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  42:1 (09-10 /2018)
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Reviewer: Robert Maxham

Rachel Podger’s, with the Brecon Baroque, (includes)  three ... concertos, Il Riposo, L’Amoroso, and Il Grosso Mogul, just about but not quite doubling the length. The gestures likewise seem more restrained, with for example an emphasis in the outer movements of Spring on legato articulation, although Podger’s solos occasionally hiss and spit. Occasionally, too, throughout the four concertos Podger improvises a discreet ornament—but only discreet ones, although she does provide a brief bridge between the second and third movements of Winter. And the restraint gives way, for example in Summer, to bold brisk textures in the frequent storms. The engineers, setting the solo violin in the orchestral web, convey more of the subtlety of Vivaldi’s orchestration than a simple inspection of his score might. In Autumn, especially its hunting finale, Podger sounds extrovertedly virtuosic, as she does in the first movement of Winter. But these moments, though striking, don’t set the performances’ tone. Podger accords a prominent place in the continuo to theorbo, played in these performances by Daniele Caminiti. In fact the theorbo, with its timbral subtlety, could serve (at least here) as a sort of metaphor for the performances themselves, dominated by pastels rather than primary colors.

The concerto Il Riposo per il S. S. Natale receives just such a performance from Podger and the Brecon Baroque, and their gentleness and sensitivity seem perfectly suited to this sort of work—so well, in fact, that its undulating textures make some of the strongest impressions in the entire program. L’Amoroso, though perhaps suaver melodically, especially in its outer movements, explores a similar Affekt—and so do soloist and ensemble. The prepossessing Concerto Il Grosso Mogul serves as a highly virtuosic conclusion. Bumptious (unlike the earlier two concertos), this one offers the soloist cadenza-like passages, as well as an opportunity for fancy in the recitative-like slow movement, that must have amazed Vivaldi’s contemporaries and helped establish his reputation for almost crack-brained virtuosity. Yet Podger’s and the ensemble’s performance isn’t all cut and thrust, and offers contrasting moments of reflection set with delicate timbral tracery.

Those who appreciate the ambiance of period instruments and Podger’s way with them should find these performances ... appealing in their own way ..., and the addition of three of Vivaldi’s most ingratiating concertos should make the collection irresistible to them.

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